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A. J. SHAW. ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATED HOISTING MACHINERY. No. 600,092. IPatented Mar. 1,1898.

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ALTON J. SHAW, OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGN OR TO THE SHAW ELECTRICCRANE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRlCALLY-OPERATED HOISTING MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,092, dated March 1,1898.

Original application filed May 6, 1893 Serial No. 473,287. Divided andthis application filed Januarylfi, 1894. Serial No.

' 497,067. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALTON J. SHAW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Muskegon, in the county of Muskegon and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hoisting Machinery,of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in a novel arrangement of electrical circuits andconnections as applied to hoisting machinery, and particularly asrelated to a traveling-bridge crane in which several electric motors arecontrolled from a trolley movable upon the traveling bridge ofthe'crane.

The present application is a division of one filed in my name on the 6thday of May, 1893, Serial No. 473,287, and this division is madein'compliance with requirement of the Patent Office.

In the drawings forming part of this application, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a portion of the bridge of a crane embodying my invention,showing the trolley and attendant parts; Fig. 2, a diagrammatic viewillustrating the circuits or manner of running the electric conductors;Fig. 3, an elevation of the hoisting beam or bar of the crane whichcarries certain of the conductors; Figs. at and 5, views illustratingthe path of the current under different adjustments of thereversingswitch; and Fig. 6, a diagram illustratingv the constructionand arrangement of the reversing-switch in connection with theconductors, contacts, and rheostats.

For convenience of comparison and reference the lettering of theoriginal application is retained in this.

In order that the special matter of the present division may be clearlyunderstood, it is proper to state that the construction of the crane ispeculiar in that it comprises a traveling bridge provided with anelectric motor for its propulsion, a trolley movable over the bridge, ahoisting-beam mounted in and Vertically' movable through the trolley,tongs carried by the beam, separate electric motors for propelling thetrolley, for actuating the hoisting-beam, and for opening and closingthe tongs, and in'that all of said motors are controlled from themovable trolley. The construction thus generally stated necessitatesspecial arrangement of circuits, switches, &c., and it is thisarrangement that the present divisional application is designed tocover.

Referring now to the drawings, A indicates a bridge or girder ofapproved construction carried at its ends upon trucks or wheels e, whichtraverse rails or ways, as is usual with bridge-cranes.

B indicates a shaft carried in suitable boxes or hangers secured tobridge A. This shaft carries wheels I), which are here represented aspinions or gear-wheels, but which may be the truck-wheels e or anyothers which, being rotated, shall cause the travel of the bridge Aalong its track or Way.

Shaft B receives motion directly or indirectly from an electric motor C,carried by bridge A, intermediate gearing being represented andpreferably employed for reasons well understood.

D indicates a trolley movable over the bridge or girder A and providedwith an electric motor E for its propulsion, which motor, being fixedupon the trolley, travels with it.

H indicates the hoisting bar or beam, which is raised and lowered by theoperation of an electromotor F, likewise secured upon and movable withthe trolley, the gearing connect ing the motor and the beam not beingshown in this case, but being merely toothed gearing taking into arack-bar extending lengthwise of said bar or beam H. Motor F isfurnished with a magnetic brake G, which is here represented as of theconstruction set forth in Letters Patent No. 461,052, granted to me andbearing date October 13, 1891, but which may be of any other suitableconstruction.

Carried by and at the lower end of hoisting-beam H is a pair of tongs M,which may be of any approved construction. Extending longitudinally ofthe bar or beam H is a rod or shaft K, the upper end of which isencircled by a nut suitably swiveled in the upper end of the bar or beamH, which nut is 5 furnished with a gear-wheel L, through which rotarymotion is received from an electromotor N, secured to and carried by thebar or. beam H.

It is not necessary here to give description of the details of any ofthese parts, a general understanding of their relation to one anotherbeing sufficient for the purposes of this divisional case.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 6, inclusive, the

.arrangement of circuits, connections, and

switches or devices by which the several motors are controlled will beexplained.

For convenience and clearness of explanation Fig. 2 shows the trolleyboth in plan and in end elevation, the oonnectionsbein g shown witheach, and the hoisting beam or bar is shown at one side in elevation, inorder that the connections may be more clearly illustrated.

S indicates a source of electric energy, which may be a dynamo-electricgenerator,as shown, or a primary battery, accumulator, or any equivalentsource of supply. From the two terminals or electrodes of the source ofenergy two conductors 1 and 2 are carried along the runway or line oftravel of the bridge, said conductors being of heavy wire, rods, orstrips, or of any convenient form, and of suitable material. Theseconductors are supported in any convenient manner, and being bare areinsulated from the supports to prevent loss of current. They arearranged in convenient position to be swept or rubbed by two slidingcontacts 3 and 4, carried by the bridge A. From the contacts 3 and 4 twobare wires or conductors 5 and 6 are carried lengthwise of the bridge A,from which they are, however, carefully insulated, and these wires orconductors are swept or .rubbed by two sliding contacts 7 and 8, carriedby, but insulated from, the trolleyD. Thus the current for the entireapparatus is carried to the operators cage on the trolley, where it isdi-.

vided up and delivered as required to the several motors, the positionsof the crane and trolley being variable at will without interruption ofor interference with the delivery of current to the controlling deviceswithin the cage.

T indicates a main switch mounted upon a suitable switchboard within thetrolley-cage and serving to open or close the main working or supplycircuit of the crane at the will of the operator, the current enteringby a conductor 9,which passes from contact 7 to the switch T, thence toan ammeter U, and thence to a series of rheostats V, each of whichcontains a reversing-switch W, Fig. 6.

There are as many rheostats Vas there are motors, or four under theconstruction and arrangement set forth, and in each the reversing-switchis so constructed and arranged as to reverse only the armature-currentof the motor which it controls, the field-magnet circuits all remainingconstant as to direction.

The conductors 5 and 6 are carried along one face of the bridge orgirder A, which for convenience of explanation is designated as the rearface, and along the front face thereof are four bare wires or conductors10,11, 12,

and 13, also extending the length of the bridge or girder, but carefullyinsulated therefrom. Four contacts 14, 15, 16, and 17, carried by butinsulated from the trolley sweep or slide upon the conductors 10, 11,12, and 13, as shown both in plan and in elevation in Fig. 2 and asbetter illustrated in connection with the rheostat and reversing-switchin Fig. 6.

Referring now to the last-mentioned view, Fig. 6, from which the mainswitch and ammeter are omitted, the current passes by contact 7 andconductor 9 to sliding contact 14 of the trolley, thence by conductor 10on the front face of bridge or girder to conductor 18, by which itpasses to the field-magnets of the fixed bridge-traverse motor 0, whenceit passes by conductor 19 to conductor 11 on the front face of thebridge or girder, thence by sliding contact 15 of the trolley andconductor 20 through one of the conducting-sections of rotary switch WV,to conductor 21, to sliding contact 16 of the trolley, and by this toconductor 12 on the front face of the bridge or girder, thence byconductor 22 to one of the armature brushes, through thearmaturewinding, and by the second armature-brush to the conductor 23,whence it passes to conductor 13 on the front face of the bridge orgirder, thence by sliding contact 17 of the trolley to conductor 24, bythis to a second conducting-section of switch XV, thence by conductor 25to the rheostat V, and, finally, by conductor 26 to the ground or returnconductor 6, which connects through contact 4 and conductor 2 with thesecond terminal or electrode of the source of electric energy.

It will be seen from the foregoing explanation that the current entersthe switch WV only after traversing the fields of the motor. Hence thecurrent may be reversed through said switch, and consequently throughthe armature of the motor, without aifecting the direction of thefield-current. So, too, the supply and reversal of the bridge-traversemotor is effected from the trolley-cage without interference ordifficulty, whether the trolley be at one or another point on the bridgeor moving thereon, because the contacts 14:, 15, 16, and 17 are alwaysbearing upon the conductors 10, 11, 12, and 13. I

It is not essential that the conductor 9 be carried through the trolley,because the motor 0 being fixed in position upon the bridge saidconductor may pass directly from the conductor 5 or sliding contact 3 tothe fieldcoils of the motor, as indicated by dotted lines 27 in Fig. 6.It is, however, preferred to carry the current through the trolley andthe main switch T, as otherwise the field-coils of the bridge-traversemotor C would be always alive so long as the generator should continueoperative.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the directions of the current under the twodiflferent adjustments of switch W, it being obvious from an inspectionof Fig. 6 that if the switch be turned to the position indicated bydotted lines conductor 20 will be connected with conductor 24 andconductor 21 will be connected with conductor 25, so that thearmature-circuit will be reversed.

The construction and arrangement of rheostats and reversing-switchesbeing the same for each and all the motors it is unnecessary to traceout the other circuits; but a brief explanation as to the hoist-motorconnections is perhaps necessary.

As indicated, the bridge-traverse motor is fixed relatively to thetrolley and the trolley is movable relatively to said motor, whereas allthe other motors are fixed in or upon or move with the trolley. Hencethe necessity of the sliding contacts 14, 15,16, and 17. On the otherhand the lifting bar or beam H moves relatively to its motor, and henceit is necessary to provide means for supplying current to thetrip-motorN, which, being mounted upon the bar or beam, moves therewithrelatively to the trolley. This end may be attained by the use offlexible conductors of adequate length extending from the rheostat andswitch apparatus of the trolley to the motor N With suitabletake-updevice's; but as this would be likely to complicate mattersneedlessly I prefer to provide the beam or bar H with four bareconductors extending nearly or quite its whole length and carefullyinsulated therefrom, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The manner or orderof coupling or connecting the motor will be precisely the same as thatdescribed above in connection with the bridge-traverse motor 0, exceptthat the four conductors connect directly with and slide up and down inelectrical contact with four con.-

tacts fixed in or upon the trolley. The construction and arrangement ofthe rheostat and switch for this motor will be precisely the same as forall the other motors, the four being placed side by side in thetrolley-cage D, as indicated in Fig. 2. In View of this it is to be keptin mind that it is fixed upon the bridge and is, so far as its relationto the trolley, and consequently to its controllingsuitable form of tripor serve as secondary or supplemental light hoist. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combinationwith trolley D and with hoisting-beam H, tongs M carried by said beam,motor N for actuating said tongs, insulated conductors extendinglengthwise of the beam and connecting with the motor, brushes orcontact-pieces carried by the trolley and arranged to maintain contactwith the beam under varying adjustments of the latter, and a switch alsocarried by the trolley and serving to control the supply of current tosaid motor.

2. In combination with a track or way, a source of electric energy,conductors of electricity communicating with said source and extendingalong the track or way, a bridge mounted and movable upon said way,conductors 5 and 6, and 10, 11, 12, and 13 carried by said bridge,sliding contacts 3 and 4 connecting conductors 5, 6 with conductors 1, 2

an electric motor, 0, also carried by the bridge, a trolley D mountedupon the bridge, a switch W carried by the trolley, contacts 7 and 8arranged to slide upon conductors 5 and 6, conductor 9, contacts let,15, 16 and 17 arranged to slide upon the conductors 10, 11, 12 and 13,and conductors 17 to 26 serving to complete the circuits to and from theswitch, from the conductors 5 and 6, through the motor. e

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALTON J. SHAVER.

Witnesses:

J. G. EMERY, J r., Tnos. O. AKIN.

